Fintech Should Be a Top Priority in Belt and Road Initiative, IMF Head Christine Lagarde Says

Zhou Ailin

DATE : May 15 2017/SOURCE : Yicai

Fintech Should Be a Top Priority in Belt and Road Initiative, IMF Head Christine Lagarde Says

(Yicai Global) May 15 -- Managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde put forward her suggestions and support for China's One Belt, One Road initiative at the strategy's Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation yesterday.

"Harnessing the resources of governments, investors, financial institutions and ordinary citizens requires a financial system that works for all," Lagarde said at a sub-forum on financial connectivity. "This objective lies at the heart of the Belt and Road initiative."

She also proposed three policy priorities that she believes will help governments achieve this common goal.

Firstly, efforts to attract more foreign direct investment into high-quality infrastructure construction should be ramped up. Second, more financial inclusion should be pushed forward, especially in developing economies. Third, the initiative should harness the powers of financial technology, now widely referred to as fintech, which incorporates the use of modern advancements to upgrade financial services.

Lagarde highlighted that greater financial integration requires stronger partnerships between countries along the Belt and Road route and further afield. She also referenced a Chinese proverb, "one chopstick is easy to bend, but a bunch is difficult to break."

"By working together," she added, "We will have the opportunity to create stronger financial connections and more prosperous economies -- in Asia and around the world."